


This Scarred Place

by SonjaJade



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Gen, Healing, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 01:45:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10452204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonjaJade/pseuds/SonjaJade
Summary: Time really does heal all wounds.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Never Forget- 3 Oct 11

Alphonse and Mei stood at the end of a dirt path, looking at the ruins of a burned down house.  The wind blew gently through Mei’s bangs and she listened as Al took a deep breath.  She could sense his nervousness (why was he nervous?) and she looked up at him.  “What’s wrong?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t answer right away.  His brows furrowed and he frowned, then he squeezed her hand and said at last, “This is where it happened… where Ed and I committed the ultimate taboo.”

Mei turned toward him, touched his chin, and made him face her.  She smiled, “This is the place you and Ed were born, the place you learned to walk and run, the place you had adventures in forts made of sheets and chairs, where your mother read you bedtime stories…”  She watched as Al’s face softened a little and she looked back at the overgrown plot of land.  “There are more happy memories here than you know, they’re just buried under the bad ones.”

She let go of his hand and walked up to where she assumed the front steps would have been.  Tracing the dragon’s pulse in the geography, Mei wandered around the footprint of the Elric house.  She could feel the good in the soil, but also the deep scar that was all healed now.  Her footsteps stopped at the place where the scar could be felt, and she could hear Al’s deep chuckle from the path.

“You found where it happened without me telling you.  That’s how bad we screwed up.”

Mei shook her head.  “If you hadn’t done it, you wouldn’t have been turned into a suit of armor.”  She looked up at him.  “If you hadn’t been a suit of armor, I would have never met you.  And if I’d never met you…  I don’t want to think about that.”

She managed to keep from crying at the thought of never meeting him, looking back at the blackened earth.  But when she felt two strong arms wrap around her, she buried her face in Al’s chest and let them come.  The rumble of his voice was soothing, telling her to shush and that he wasn’t going anywhere.  She straightened up and pulled back, taking his hand.  “Come here, I want you to feel something.”

Al trailed behind her as she scurried to the burnt out husk of a tree that stood by what was the front door.  She laid both their hands on it and whispered, “Can you feel it?  It’s still alive.  It’s healing inside.”

Mei watched as Al closed his eyes, trying to focus on the energy flowing through the tree.  On the outside, it looked black and stunted and dead.  But when Mei sliced a branch free with one of her kunai, the inside was soft and white and just under the outer bark was a layer of brilliant green.  But more importantly, the tree’s _ki_ was vibrant and alive…

“Al-sama, this place is full of good energy.  And I can feel your father’s _ki_ , as well as another’s…  This isn’t the scarred place you left as a child.  This place is healthy and healed.”  She watched his face as he discovered these things for himself.

His closed eyes began to brew fat tears and his mouth curled at the corners as he said, “I think it’s mom with him.  And you’re right, this feels nothing like the place we left behind all those years ago.”  His hands gripped the bark of the burned tree tighter.

“Even the place where you did the transmutation feels alright,” she said as she smoothed circles over his back with the palm of her hand.  “This is a healed place; a good place once more.”

Al slowly pulled his hands away from the tree and he turned to pull Mei into his arms.  “I want to build a house here, make this a home again.”  He kissed her hard on the mouth.  “I want to make a family here… with you, Mei.”

Mei leaped into his arms and wrapped herself around the young man she was hopelessly in love with.  “I would love to start a family here with you,” she cried into his shoulder.  “This is a good place to call home.”

On the other side of the gate, two spirits linked hands and smiled.  The place they had called home would be a home once again, filled with laughter and love and the sound of children…  At last, they were completely at peace.


End file.
